The moment is nearing for the sailaway of the recently grounded Transocean drilling rig in Scotland.

The rig, currently moored in the Broad Bay, offshore Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, will be taken aboard a heavy lift vessel and shipped to Turkey.

According to the UK Maritime and Coast Guard agency, the Briggs Environmental vessel Forth Drummer will on Thursday be undertaking a boom deployment exercise in the location of the Transocean Winner, weather permitting.

The training exercise will see 200 meters of containment boom deployed. The exercise which is designed to confirm to Briggs personnel response timings, in advance of operations transferring the Transocean Winner onto the OHT Hawk – the semi-submersible heavy lift vessel.

The exercise starting at 1 p.m. locat time is scheduled to last approximately 3 hours.

To remind, the Transocean Winner rig ran aground on a beach in Dalmore Bay back in August after severe storms had forced a tow line between the rig and a tug towing it to snap.

After two weeks of being grounded in Dalmore Bay, the rig was then moved to Broad Bay, where it is currently located waiting to be moved away as a ‘dry cargo.’

Exclusion zone in place

A Temporary Exclusion Zone (TEZ) of 1,000 meters is still in place around the Transocean Winner’s current position in Broad Bay and will remain in place to minimize risk to safety for other craft using the area.

The exclusion zone also provides a safe working environment for divers and the numerous surface vessels supporting the ongoing salvage operation, the coast guard said. An additional TEZ will be established around the position of the OHT Hawk during the loading operations.

Source: www.offshoreenergytoday.com